To adapt and update a film that needs no adaptation is one thing. To entirely miss the point of the original film is another. The main flaw is Sophia Loren. I do not mean to suggest anything wrong with the actress herself – she is simply miscast in this film. Loren is far too gorgeous and exotic-looking for the role. What makes Brief Encounter so heart-breaking is that Celia Johnson, although she grows more attractive as the film continues, is not movie-star pretty. We could therefore easily believe – indeed, we know – that the affair is the most exciting event of her life, that it is the closest her life will ever come to resembling a Hollywood film. With Loren, we could more easily believe that she had once been a model who enjoyed many glamorous affairs before settling down, and she was now indulging in a bit of nostalgia. This leads to another problem: the original Brief Encounter is about love, this is about indulgence. Johnston's character was a housewife with too much time to spare, whereas Loren's character is a social worker. Her dalliances therefore have genuine consequences. Perhaps this could have made the film more interesting, but it instead it makes the film less of a love story and more of a rebuke to the selfish and the self-indulgent. It may have been different if we really believed Loren's character really loved Burton's character, but it seems more likely she was looking for a fun distraction from an admirable job she wasn't especially passionate about. I could find other flaws, but I will leave it at this: See the original. It cuts to the heart where this film leaves a scratch. If you love the original and want to see more of its kind, see A Man and a Woman or Before Sunrise/Sunset. Brief Encounter most likely inspired these lovely films, but they tell the classic story of a chance meeting turning into a love story charmingly and effectively.
Review of Brief Encounter
